Meet the Team

Maria Arcocha White |  Founder and CEO

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Born in Cuba, Maria immigrated to the U.S. with her family as a four-year old. Her formative experiences as an immigrant is partly what drew her to work in the diversity and inclusion (D&I) field. Throughout her career of 35 years, Maria has developed inclusion and diversity training and successfully trained thousands of executives, managers, and employees across a wide range of industries.

Maria stood out in the field because of her compassionate approach, powerful ability to connect people, and success at building inclusive cultures. In 2013, she launched Inclusity to pursue an empathetic, inclusion-focused approach to D&I work, believing that when we “lead with inclusion, diversity will follow.”

Prior to Inclusity, Maria was executive vice president of Pope & Associates, a leading D&I training and consulting firm, and vice president of human resources for R. R. Donnelley Logistics. She began her career at Procter and Gamble Company, where she became the company’s first Hispanic sales and marketing manager.

Maria’s compassion also extends to the community. She currently serves on the board of the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, is a Rotary member, and previously served in an advisory capacity on the U.S. Senate Task Force on Hispanic Affairs.

Maria has an M.A. in counseling from Xavier University and a B.A. in communications from the University of Toledo. She holds a certification in PROSCI change management. She works out of the central Inclusity office in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Latonya Brock | Facilitator

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As a presenter and champion of the business case for diversity and inclusion in her community, Latonya is a trailblazer. Her dedication for D&I and her effortless skill with people have made Latonya a sought-out leader for consulting and facilitating workshops and business conversations. In her work, Latonya applies this passion and business acumen to identify solutions that enhance the business climate in her community. She diligently advocates for the business community, with the ultimate goal of helping to build cultures in which all employees can thrive.

Over her 28+ years of leadership, Latonya has worked in multiple leadership positions in the
financial industry. She achieved notable success in sales management,
professional development of others, team engagement, organizational leadership, and strategic
thinking, which improved revenue for the organization.

Mitchell Campbell | Director of Research and Evaluation

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Mitchell is passionate about developing evidence-based solutions to promote inclusion that are supported by data. He uses his skills as a PhD in Psychology to inform Inclusity’s programs and services and performs evaluations to determine their effectiveness. 

In his work with the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Mitchell developed several effective initiatives that increased the well-being of students belonging to marginalized backgrounds, reduced the achievement gap, and increased the diversity of students’ social networks. He loves working to better understand the unique challenges, climate, and opportunities that exist in each new context and employing scientifically grounded tactics to promote behavior change. 

Mitchell grew up in Duluth, MN and earned his bachelor’s degree at Carleton College. His interest in inclusion was sparked by getting to know people with very different experiences from his own: a few of his closest neighbors in his freshman dorm included a Latino football player from south Texas, a Bhutanese refugee, and a black lesbian woman from Georgia. By learning more about their lives and through his own journey as a gay man, Mitchell became interested in inclusion. Since then, he has worked in numerous advocacy roles in addition to his scientific work. 

After graduating from Carleton, Mitchell went on to earn his MS in Psychology and PhD in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Terrance Collins | Facilitator

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An experienced writer, editor, speaker and facilitator, Terrance is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. He takes pride in building relationships with people and helping them gain the tools, skills and resources needed to get them from where they are to where they want to be.

Over the past 20 years, Terrance’s career path has included working as a journalist and non-profit professional. As an accomplished journalist, Terrance worked at the Detroit Free Press for ten years. He honed the craft of compelling storytelling, winning multiple writing awards, including Michigan Associated Press writer of the year honors. He has an impeccable sense for a great story and has used this skill to identify and shape excellent stories at a top-20 newspaper, where he managed and mentored fledgling reporters.

At United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Terrance first served as director of high school success then as work-based learning director. In his tenure there, he partnered with high school principals to help connect them with critical resources. He also collaborated with corporate partners to bring real world experiences to the classroom and engaged volunteers in capacity-building initiatives.

Terrance has a proven track record for developing content and facilitating training for professionals, including building opportunities for meaningful interaction with young people from diverse social and economic backgrounds. He is adept at developing strong teams and has experience managing staff and grooming young professionals to help them achieve their career goals.

Terrance is a Detroit native and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Michigan University. He is a volunteer pastor at his church.

José Cox | Facilitator

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José is a management consultant and trainer with Inclusity. He is an expert in leadership development, executive coaching, D&I business strategies and community relations, having worked as a translator, facilitator and project manager.

His primary focus is leadership development: coaching and skill building managers to face the challenges of leading multicultural and global teams. He works to establish a level playing field for performance excellence, leading the way to long-term enterprise sustainability.

José has designed and facilitated D&I workshops to improve employee relationships, increase appreciation of cultural differences, create effective team interaction and develop conflict management strategies for major companies. He coordinated a supplier diversity program aimed at developing business partnerships between corporate business units and ethnic minority- and women-owned enterprises.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, José is bilingual and bicultural in American English and Latin American Spanish. He has utilized his culture-spanning skills to conduct translations and market research focus groups, as well as facilitate workshops, negotiations, presentations and consultations about Hispanic markets throughout America and Latin America. José has directed marketing campaigns to introduce energy assistance and conservation, electrical safety programs and health services to new markets. One of his proudest accomplishments was managing a $1.5 million budget for corporate social responsibility projects.

José holds a BS in Science Education from Temple University and a BS in Education from the University of Puerto Rico, with certificates in Corporate Community Relations, Organizational Development, Gender Communication Facilitation and Executive Coaching. He works out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Deseri Garcia | Facilitator

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Deseri is a passionate coach, facilitator, and speaker whose goal is to genuinely connect with people to help them improve both team and personal effectiveness. Calling on nearly 20 years of corporate experience in the transportation industry, Deseri has been providing coaching and leadership development since 2004.

As a gifted team builder, Deseri works with executives, directors, managers, and business owners to support leadership development and team continuity. She is an accredited facilitator of “The 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team,” and holds certifications from the Association for Challenge Course Technology, the Coaching Clinic-Corporate Coach U and the Predictive Index.

Shaun Hawkins | Senior Facilitator

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A venture capitalist, entrepreneur and strategist, Shaun brings a robust business background to his work as an Inclusity consultant. He founded ProSyte Companies, a diversified holding entity investing in businesses and real estate in the U.S. and Europe, after an 18-year career at Eli Lilly and Company.

From 2012–2015, Shaun was vice president of new ventures and private equity investing at Eli Lilly. In 2009, he was promoted to chief diversity officer to lead the development and implementation of Lilly’s global diversity and inclusion strategy. Lilly received national recognition for its efforts and progress during Shaun’s tenure.

Prior to serving as chief diversity officer, he was director of private equity, where he built strategic investment syndicates and new entities to accelerate the development of early-stage innovation. In 2007, he was certified as a Six Sigma black belt.

Shaun currently serves on the board of directors for Invesque, Inc., where he chairs the governance and nominating committee and is a member of the audit committee. In 2017, Shaun earned a Board Governance Fellowship from the National Association of Corporate Directors (US).

Shaun graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Tennessee. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

 

Lisa Hofmann | Director of Communications

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As director of communications for Inclusity, Lisa blends her talent and interest in written and visual communications to engage clients in meaningful ways. With 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, she developed a well-rounded skillset in communication, graphic design, and marketing.

Through her professional career, Lisa has developed and implemented organizational branding, created and executed marketing plans, coordinated events, and facilitated media relations and coverage. Most recently, she served the Jewish Community Board of Akron as an editor, designer, and communications coordinator.

Based in Cleveland, she enjoys reading, gardening, yoga, and being involved in the community. Lisa is mom to one kid, two cats, and many plants.

Patrick Hughes | Senior Facilitator

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Patrick brings 20+ years of facilitation experience to Inclusity’s team as a management consultant and facilitator. His work as an organization development consultant cultivated the ability to effectively work with all levels of any organization. Whether coaching individuals, improving team dynamics, assessing organizations, or managing change efforts for a system, Patrick is always focused on supporting the client’s goals and vision. He is recognized for motivating and partnering with leaders to create lasting and sustainable change, for both individuals and organizations.

Patrick completed his Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD) at American University. Prior to his higher education experiences, he first became immersed in group theory, inclusion, leadership development, and experiential education while working in camp settings and leading high ropes courses. When he isn’t working, you will find him running around with and after his four kiddos: Zachary, Alexander, Benjamin, and Emma. He is based in Indianapolis.

Sunny Krom |Facilitator

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Highly recognized as a thought leader in best-practice diversity and inclusion methodologies, Sunny has a track record for helping organizations become more inclusive and achieve their D&I business goals. Sunny has an authentic and open style in facilitating and coaching leaders toward an inclusive culture.

As a Certified Diversity Executive, Sunny has designed and implemented D&I policies and training programs in healthcare and corporate environments. In her previous role as Diversity and Inclusion Director, Sunny propelled the enterprise to a Top-10 ranking on Diversity Inc.’s Top 50. In her commitment to raising awareness in organizations relating to diversity and inclusion, Sunny developed and piloted a Women’s Leadership forum with targeted curriculum focused on specific challenges faced by women in healthcare.

Sunny is certified as a Myers-Briggs Practitioner, Master Diversity Trainer, and a Life & Executive Coach. Located in Hudson Valley, New York, Sunny’s passions include, spending time outdoors, travel, gardening, and spending time with her family, especially her two grandchildren!

Jennifer Lewis | Director of Organizational Development

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For over 25 years, Dr. Lewis has helped organizations and executives address challenges and implement innovative solutions. Specializing in organizational and leadership development, as well as diversity and inclusion, Dr. Lewis has worked extensively with teams and individuals around leadership style, high-potential development, and mobility, incorporating 360 assessments and psychometric instruments.

She has led diversity and inclusion initiatives, employee engagement action plans, change management strategies, and talent development programs to create diverse and inclusive work environments. Dr. Lewis has facilitated corporate workshops and taught undergraduate and graduate courses as an adjunct professor online and in the classroom.

She has held positions with the Church Pension Group, Guardian Life Insurance Company, Sony Music Entertainment, NYU Medical Center, Medgar Evers College, and CUNY School of Professional Studies.

Dr. Lewis has an EdD in organizational leadership; a M.S. in human resource management; an MBA in management and a BS in business administration. Her extensive professional experience and industry research contributed to her doctoral dissertation, which examined the impact of career development opportunities on employee engagement. She is a Certified Diversity Executive and a Certified Professional Coach.

Dr. Lewis believes in giving back and using her knowledge to help others. Her volunteerism includes serving as a board member of CUNY SPS Advisory Board and a D&I committee member for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Kipp Leyser | Vice President of Coaching

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Kipp develops and leads Inclusity’s training, coaching, and consulting programs, applying 25+ years of experience in executive coaching, leadership and team development, organizational culture change and diversity training. As a senior management consultant, he worked in the U.S. and globally with over fifty Fortune 500 companies in a wide range of industries: pharmaceuticals, biotech, consumer products, and insurance/financial services, among others.

Adept at quickly establishing trust and connections, Kipp succeeds at working with people at all organizational levels. His areas of expertise include one-on-one interviewing and coaching as well as Enneagram personality assessments and training.

Kipp earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Sacramento State University, and a master’s degree in transpersonal counseling psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Monica Miller | Facilitator

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Monica has worked for 16 years as a pharmacist and 14 years as an award-winning educator within the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Her work has supported the pharmacy initiatives within the AMPATH program which assists in developing education and care programs to communities in western Kenya.

With a passion for helping people pursue their best personal health, she also has a strong desire to create inclusive and diverse environments where people can be their authentic selves. In her role at Purdue, she has led the development of a diversity and inclusion longitudinal curriculum for Doctor of Pharmacy students and partners with the diversity and inclusion director to create and support professional development of graduate students, faculty, and staff. Monica holds a Bachelor’s of Science in biomedical science and chemistry from St. Cloud State University, a master’s degree in pharmacy and health outcomes from the University of Texas, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota.

Zaida Monell | Facilitator

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Zaida brings 32 years of extensive experience as an HR professional to her role as a facilitator. Passionate about encouraging and connecting people, she excels in developing talent through coaching, training, and mentoring. Most recently Zaida served as vice president of human resources and director of employee and organization development for Goodwill. She formerly worked with migrant workers for Red Gold, Inc. in Indiana and held HR management positions with Ethicon, LLC and Hanes Menswear, Inc.

Zaida holds a master’s degree in positive organization development and change from Case Western Reserve University and is also a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in psychology. Committed to continuous improvement, she holds numerous certifications including Senior Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP), Certified Change Practitioner (PROSCI), and Certified Diversity Professional (Institute for Diversity Certification).

In her community, Zaida has served as a community liaison for English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) and a board member of Indiana INTERNnet. She is based in Indianapolis.

Toni Neely | Senior Facilitator

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During the first 15 years of her successful career in sales and marketing for a statewide spirits and wine wholesaler, Toni developed a passion and talent for coaching and training. Between 2002–2011, she earned training/facilitating certifications as a Statewide Sales Trainer, Paradigm Discovery Coach and Facilitator (leadership and coaching curriculum), Team Building Facilitator, and Diversity Trainer. She has facilitated training at Eli Lilly, WellPoint, Heinz, Progressive Insurance, The Christ Hospital, and many more.

A passion for making meaningful business connections and professional development led Toni to the role as director of membership relations at the Indy Chamber of Commerce. In addition to those responsibilities, she served on the Board of Directors for the Diversity Round Table of Central Indiana (2014-2019) and is a current member of SHRM’s Diversity Sub Committee. Toni graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington and resides in Indianapolis.

Stormie Perez | Training Manager

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As an experienced non-profit professional, Stormie has a proven track record for strategic planning, relationship management and talent development. She served as Learning & Development Manager at City Year Chicago, where she created and implemented tiered professional development programs for City Year Staff.

In her role as training manager, Stormie uses her deep understanding of program development, facilitation and strategy to help ensure consistently excellent experiences for our clients. As a D&I champion for at her previous employer, Stormie co-created and chaired a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging committee for four years, designing programming, policies and strategies. She also developed a library of D&I learning content for professional development.

Stormie holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University’s James Madison College. She holds a certificate from Northwestern University in leading diversity equity and inclusion. Her passions include golfing with family and friends, cooking and baking gluten-free recipes, and spending time with her two rescue dogs, Sweet Pea and Dunkin.

Rachael Pettiford | Facilitator

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Rachael began her career in professional sports working at Adidas and with the NBA, NFL, and Professional Bull Riding in sales, marketing, and account management. Coming from a small town of 2,000 people in the Midwest, Rachael decided to move internationally to explore other cultures different from her own. With a passion for developing meaningful relationships, Rachael volunteered and worked internationally in numerous positions such as teaching at a local high school, organizing wellness retreats, leading self-development workshops, and developing community activist groups. She co-founded CMARC, a community activist group that organizes expat and local events to host diversity discussions.

Rachael graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and management. Her passions include meditation, cycling, traveling, reading, and scuba diving. She resides in Orlando, Florida.

Robin Smerchek | Facilitator

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Robin is one of the first female engineers to become plant manager and director of engineering at We Energies. As change agent in the organization, she actively and strategically led culture transformation for 20 years. Robin’s work helped shift workplace culture to an environment in which employees are now more willing to speak up and managers are ready to listen. With robust diversity and inclusion training under her belt, she facilitated and led inclusion initiatives and sponsored leadership skill building at a senior level.

Robin is skilled at one-on-one coaching for senior leaders, managers, and employees, as well as mentoring and coaching women and minorities. She  mentors young women who will become tomorrow’s engineers and is a leader in the STEM movement in the Southern Wisconsin Region.

In addition to mentoring and coaching in an organized union environment, Robin developed and implemented a strategic plan to develop personnel and retain corporate knowledge and expertise. Her experience also covers examining human resource systems, policies, and practices for diversity implications, as well as developing metrics for measuring diversity progress.

She has bachelors’ degrees in mathematics and applied science and technology from the University of Wisconsin Parkside; she completed her Executive MBA from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Vern Vereen | Senior Facilitator

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For more than 40 years, Vern has worked with teams to help them excel in today’s rapidly changing workplace. He brings this experience to his role as a management consultant and facilitator with Inclusity.

Vern specializes in helping organizations maximize the effectiveness and productive cooperation of employees at all levels. His keynote presentations and workshops that helped thousands of people across the U.S. transform their attitudes and behaviors and improve work relationships and performance. Past workshop participants remarked: “Vern is a dynamic facilitator,” whose “charisma and knowledge of the workshop topics really made the message and the entire workshop worthwhile.”

Vern’s professional work experience includes 20 years as a manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories. For the past 26 years, he has operated his own consulting firm. He has received numerous business and professional awards over the years.

With degrees from Morehouse College in psychology and sociology, Vern works out of Atlanta, Georgia.